The night shift can be kind of boring. Sure, the more experienced ponies always said boring was preferable, but Sea Breeze always liked to make her own fun. What better time to chat up her fellow bat-ponies? She was pretty sure Luna wouldn't min

Princess Luna takes flight amidst the chilling winter sky, as she recaps unfortunate events that seemed to consume her with the betrayal towards her sister... her loving sister, Princess Celestia, then proceeds to comfort her for the night.

Luna and Rarity, with the help of a few of Celestia's elite guards, must fight to make peace with themselves before they can make peace with the past, and Rarity must learn to overcome the harshest enemy she has ever faced: Herself.

Fashion goes fast-forward for Rarity when her four future selves, each carrying a magical time amulet, show up in her studio! But her destiny – and the future for all Equestria for that matter - will be irrevocably changed by what they tell he

Everyone knows the old fable, but deep in the past, in the lands beyond the fledgeling Equestria, one pony took a very special interest in its origin. Now that she tracked it to its source, she has a plan, and all she needs is wit and word.

A pony very close to Luna notices that she's been sneaking off after nightfall for some time. When that pony has all the tact of a battleship, the only thing for sure is that things are about to get heated.

Cadance, Discord, and Fluttershy set off in search of something buried in the frozen north. But it's going to take teamwork to find it, and it's not the Princess of Love or the Lord of Chaos that are holding all the cards.

Sometimes the words ring hollow. Sometimes the ritual feels shallow. Sometimes it's hard to tell if the gifts we are given are from the heart. But sometimes, actions betray our feelings with a power that neither word nor ritual can capture.

Luna and Rarity, with the help of a few of Celestia's elite guards, must fight to make peace with themselves before they can make peace with the past, and Rarity must learn to overcome the harshest enemy she has ever faced: Herself.

"Return rainwater to a cloud and it will fall again soon enough." —Luna

After her redemption, Luna sought solitude from all ponies, including the twenty four elite guards assigned to serve her. But seven of those guards were not so easily dissuaded and sought the errant princess out, beseeching her to accept their pledges of unwavering fealty. They succeeded, and discovered her a scarred shadow of her former self, stripped of all thoughts and memories that might lead back to Nightmare Moon by the very magic that saved her.

Now, the princess stands strong in the company of trusted fellows that laugh, and grow, and bleed alongside her. They are all flawed, and they are all hopeful, but above all else, they are all equal. They are guards no longer. They are Paladins. One path. One destiny. One whole heap of trouble for Luna.

Enjoyed the ambiguity on who was doing the sunset. I like the character voicing, and the more elevated diction makes a strong enough contrast that Artemis remarking on it seems reasonable, and also came at good points for emphasis. The detail that Artemis doesn't seem to know how to drink layered cocktails is a nice touch that fits with the rest of how she was coming across.

Ehh. Equestria copies our world in every other way, so I kinda took it for granted.

The detail that Artemis doesn't seem to know how to drink layered cocktails is a nice touch that fits with the rest of how she was coming across.

Specifically, I don't have a clue, but the fact that cocktails may not even exist in an alcoholic context in-world, I never imagine it's was terribly relevant to look up.

Sold me on looking into Shades of Grey sometime.

Well, just to be upfront: Shades of Grey is a completely different animal. It's slow-paced and revolves around Rarity falling into a self-destructive hole. Artemis isn't in it, and the others are still guards, but if you get to the end, you'll get to see where the Paladins come from. I mean, hey, I think it's a good read, just be aware that it's utterly different in style.

And you just gotta love a job, a prime qualification of which is "takes no crap from a Princess."

I figure it's exactly what Luna needs. She's too volatile (generally unstable, not just potentially angry) for anyone who has to obey her orders to be of any real use to her. Feedback is paramount to emotional growth, and the Paladins run the gamut from contemplative and serene to doubt-ridden and insecure, to... well, Artemis :) They're blatantly a parallel to the main six – just with more of them!

I still have other ideas (the Hearts and Hooves scene is the one I'd like to get to sometimes), and Chris really wants me to write something about accounting weasels, so...

Ehh. Equestria copies our world in every other way, so I kinda took it for granted.

Ah. I'm used to it running Sunday to Saturday. ETA: Despite the fact that ISO 8601 was promulgated before I was born. Calendars, office software, etc., substantially all of it I've ever been exposed to has been Sunday to Saturday.

Well, just to be upfront: Shades of Grey is a completely different animal. It's slow-paced and revolves around Rarity falling into a self-destructive hole.

Well, I do have a certain affinity for stories in which someone falls into a self-destructive hole. So that's also good.

Huh. That's interesting. I've literally never heard it any other way, but now that the concept has been raised, I've done a little bit of Googling.

Looks like it's all based in the difference of opinion over whether the 'Sabbath' is Saturday or Sunday. I've never had any religious influences in my life (save for my investigations over the last few years), and the UK officially recognises the international standard, which is apparently Monday to Sunday, so it's easy to see why I've never heard it before. Of course, I don't think anyone actually cares when the official international standard is, so screw 'em.

It seems that Judaism, older sects of Christianity, and Islam are the source of the Sunday–Saturday week.

As far as the story is concerned, though, it's just a title – a real-world reference to make a point. I avoided using actual names because I think the show has always dodged anything that can be pinned down. They may not even have a sun-day, although that would make sense, much like moon-day.

Either way, thank you for asking. I now know more than I did before :)

(As an afterthought, what do people's calendars show in Windows? Mine shows Mon–Sun, so I'm wondering whether that's a programmed localisation.)

6174904 I grew up with religious influences, but I think that was secondary to seeing weeks start with Sunday everywhere else. I wonder now if it's another case of US cultural resistance to change and international standardization, like never following through with adopting the metric system.

My (US) Windows, Office, and the like defaulted to Sunday as the first day of the week, but can be set to have any day start the week.